Ghost of A Rose
by ButterflyMiko
Summary: After Sam's death, Danny and Tucker had to move on. In their new school there is a girl named Kurai who is being bullied by Mana to do terrible things. Kurai is mysterious and seems to hold secrets about Sam's ghost.
1. Death

**1993**

**Amity Park, Indiana**

Danny leaned over and gently placed a single rose on Sam's grave. All around it were fresh bouquets of other friends and family members who wished her a fond farewell. It was cold outside tonight, and the winds of change and circumstance were blowing all around Danny and Tucker as they said their final goodbyes to their best friend.

It was much to painful for them to remain in Amity Park, and all the more painful for them to be separated from each other while they were both grieving, or so their parents had decided. So they were moving to some stupid suburb town hundreds of miles away from any shred of memory of Sam.

Danny stared at the pathetic looking rose. Just like his life, it was almost dead, and the petals were falling off. "I'm sorry I couldn't protect you, Sam," he whispered, his words carried away by the wind.

Tucker placed a hand on his shoulder. "It's time to go," he said, putting a daisy on Sam's grave.

A horn honked, in sharp contrast to the sad mood. The boys took a last look at her grave, and then waded through the tall dead grass to the Fenton RV. It looked ridiculous, parked next to the cemetery. They would have laughed if it had been any other time in their lives but now.

They settled in the backseat next to Jazz, quickly buckling their seatbelts.

"I can't believe we're leaving this place," Mrs. Fenton sighed. "It's been our home for so long."

She turned to the boys. "But maybe moving will be a good thing, for all of us."

"Don't try to soften it up, Mom," Jazz said bitterly. "This is terrible. I had everything going for me here."

"Everything's not always about you, Jazz," Danny snapped.

"Both of you be quiet," Tucker said, manipulating buttons on his Nintendo DS. "I just got to level forty nine."

"How can you play video games at a time like this?" Danny exclaimed.

"It's my way of coping, ok?" Tucker replied quietly.

"Oh…" Danny said. "Sorry."

"We all have to find some way to let go," Tucker said. "Sam was our best friend."

Danny just stared out the window.

"Still don't want to talk about it?"

No answer.

"Guess not."


	2. Catwoman

This mall is really quiet," Danny whispered to Tucker. "I wonder why."

"Me too," Tucker replied loudly.

"Shh!" an older girl nearby said. "The Catwoman is coming."

"Who's-" Danny began, but the shushing of people around him cut him off. The crowd in the hallway parted to let through…two Goths?

_Isn't this a little backward? _Danny thought.

One of them looked poised for action, ready to loose venom on anyone who dared to stand in her way. She had long black hair and blue eyes, and everyone seemed to shrink back from her a little bit more.

The other girl was elusive, and she had a tough looking exterior that could be looked past if one looked hard enough. She had lighter blue eyes-and they were eyes just like a cat's! Her hair was shorter, straighter, and black, but she had blue highlights. And she had cat ears!

Why is everyone so afraid of them? Danny thought. They don't look like they'll really beat anyone up. But, then again, maybe things are different around here.

The older girl stalked over to the two "new kids." Her target wouldn't have been more obvious if he'd had it stamped on his forehead. Danny was a new kid. And new kids are picked on. It's just the way things are.

The girl seemed to know about Tucker as well, and she turned her eyes on both of them, in a glare that would have made any other student quiver in fear of what was coming next. BANG! She smacked them both in the head with a math book.

"You need learning in your head," she explained. "I am Mana. Stay away, newbies, if you know what's good for you."

Mana walked back down the hallway the way she had come, the crowds parting for her like she was royalty.

Meanwhile, Tucker had to hold Danny back from going after her and wringing her neck. No wonder everyone hated her!

The quieter girl moved fluidly through the crowd. It parted before her, if with less fear. She stepped up to the two boys, ignoring Danny's obvious fury at her older sister's behavior.

"Hello," she said coolly, with a smile that would scare away any other Lebanon student. "I am Kurai. I apologize for Mana. She's high-strung. What are your names?"

xxx

Danny calmed down quickly, analyzing her, which was something he never did.

_Why is she being nice all of a sudden? _He said to himself. _And if this is how she really is, then why are people so afraid of her?_

He finally decided that she couldn't really hurt him if he gave her his name, so he did. Tucker said his as well, and then the girl turned and walked away so quietly they barely noticed her leaving.

"What a weird town," Tucker said. "Dash doesn't have anything on those two creepy girls."

"Yeah…" Danny replied. "I wonder why they call them Catwoman."

"Maybe we'll find out later," Tucker replied.

xxx

It was lunchtime, the kids only sanctuary from the dreaded Catwoman-except their homes of course, for those who didn't have one with them.

Rumors were always passed at this time, so it was the perfect time for Danny and Tucker to find about Catwoman, the town legend.

"So, what is this 'legend' anyway?" Danny asked.

They were sitting at a table with a bunch of kids from their English class, the only one they had free from Catwoman.

"Catwoman," breathed a freshman boy at the end of the table. "I can't count how many times I have told their story."

"But there are two of them," objected Tucker. "So why are they both 'Catwoman'?"

"It doesn't matter," replied the boy in an eerie voice. "Together or separate, Kurai and Mana are Catwoman."

Rumors began pouring out from all around.

"I hear Mana can speak with the dead! That's why she's so mean to everyone."

"I heard Kurai was a witch."

"She is a witch, you dimwit."

"I saw her reading a spellbook once."

"I hear she has pointed ears, like some kind of weird mutation."

"I heard Mana held up a bank."

"I heard she killed her uncle!"

"I heard-"

The gossip stopped as Mana slammed the food court door. You could hear a pen drop on the cafeteria floor.

"You heard what?" Mana said slowly, darkly.

"N-nothing," whispered the terrified freshman girl.

"Watch your back," Mana whispered, and stalked out of the cafeteria. No more words were spoken.

"So…you got the address?" Mana whispered in my ear.

"Oh for heaven's sake, Mana, why are you whispering?" I said aloud. "He lives two houses down and we're on the street! He can't hear us!"

Mana smirked at me. "Something tells me you don't really want to do this, Kurai."

"I don't really care," I replied. "When do we go? I want to get this over with."

Mana checked her watch, and then checked her eyeliner. "We can go."

We silently walked in the shadows until we reached the Fenton's backyard. This was tradition. Every newbie had to be pranked. They jumped the fence, and then analyzed the house to find Danny's room. It was very obvious, since it was the only one with the light on, and the wallpaper was blue. And he didn't have any brothers, I had checked.

"So, who's climbing up to deliver that stupid exploding confetti?" I said in a bored voice.

"Your turn," Mana said, smiling. "Hope he's not up there! See ya."

She ran down the back way, through the alley. Again, tradition. Leave the person pulling the prank alone to do it. Less chance of getting caught that way.

_This is crap,_ I thought , struggling to climb the two-story house. _Why do we have to do this a million times a year? And why am I always stuck with it?_

Lost in my thoughts, I didn't notice Danny throw open the window.

"What are you doing?" he said in an extremely surprised voice, having recognized me.

Now, I should have thrown the confetti egg at him and ran, but it was too late for that. I was too high up. And him opening the window had shocked me just enough for me to lose my balance. I fell.

I'm dumb, so I didn't even think to use my powers.

_I should be falling, _I thought. _So why do I feel weightless? Is this what falling feels like? Or am I dead? I should have felt some pain before I died, right? Right?_

I opened my eyes. I was on the ground. Everything was normal, and I would have been able to convince myself that I hadn't fallen at all, except for the fact that there was someone hovering next to me. Hovering. He had white hair and green eyes, and he looked…well, like he was important. Somehow. But also familiar…

_Oh my gosh_, I thought, my photographic memory kicking in.

"You're Danny Fenton! And Danny Phantom! But you're…different…" I trailed off.

"I know," he replied. He paused, narrowing his eyes. "You think I'm a freak, don't you. And now everyone else will, too."

And with that, he flew off into the night, leaving a me, bewildered, behind. Even though I didn't know what was going on with Danny, I had noticed the look in his eyes…of an underlying, immeasurable kind of pain.

I recognized that pain. I had felt it before, the deep, terrible feeling that you have reached a point where there is no turning back, like you have fallen down a well, and it's too deep to climb out of, and no one is coming to get you out.

It was this that made me call after him, not sure he would even respond. "Danny...wait."

And, to my surprise, he stopped, hovering in mid-air next to his window.

"Look, you saved my life back there," I began. "And, I-I won't tell anyone your secret, I promise. No one will ever know that you're..."

"Half-ghost," he sighed. "Not that it matters."

He flew through the window and shut it quietly. A few seconds later, I saw his light flicker off.


	3. Captured

Kurai!" yelled Mana. "Earth to Kurai! Come in!"

She waved a hand in front of my face.

"What?" I snapped.

"What's your problem, Kurai?" Mana said. "Ever since we messed up the prank on that Fenton kid, you've been acting all weird. And you still won't tell me what happened that night!"

"There's nothing to tell," I mumbled. "I climbed down and ran off as soon as he opened the window, just like I told you."

"Fine, whatever, lie to me, I don't care," Mana replied glumly, then stalked off down the hallway.

"Mana-" I started after her, but Mana was already lost in the crowd. "Great."

I quickly walked away.

Lying in my bed that night, I couldn't sleep. Every time I closed my eyes I saw Danny's green eyes-full of pain and frustration-and it made me feel ashamed. Witch. Omamori. I was no hero. Sadako was gonna fire me.

_Why did we pull that stupid prank_? I thought again. _We're sophomores in high school for heaven's sake. We need to grow up. And I need to stop listening to Mana. Why can't I get some backbone? And now she's mad at me. Isn't that great._

I didn't get much sleep that night.

"So will you tell me what's going on?" Mana said before school the next day. "Come on, we're sisters, and you never tell me anything!"

"There are some things that you wouldn't want to know," I replied cryptically. "And others that I couldn't tell you, even if I wanted to."

"Why not?" Mana asked.

I ignored her and examined a bruise on my arm. I mumbled to herself, "Hmm….Tonight might be my last time for the Ritual before next month."

"So you are a witch! I knew it!" Mana exclaimed.

"I'm not a witch!" I yelled, slamming my fist against a locker. "Just leave me alone today, okay?"

"Fine, whatever," Mana's cold exterior was coming back. She hated to be left out.

Night had fallen. The school week was over, and most teenagers were out hitting the parties, but I had a job to do. And it had to be done tonight. Sadako had left it in her instructions.

I walked to the back of the shrine where the Goshinboku magic in this place, combined with the light of the full moon…it tortured my soul. Sadako had said that the Moon People needed to replenish themselves on the full moon. It was a time of meditation and renewal.

In my yokai form, I placed five candles in the proper position on the ground, or if you have help you can have people hold the candles. The green candle went in the northern most part of the circle. The yellow candle went in the east. The red candle was situated in the south. The blue in the west, and the purple went in the center of the circle.

When the candles were in their proper places I stood in the center of the circle. I centered myself by taking three deep, even breaths. My eyes closed and a knock-out dart hit my neck. I fell into the river.

xxx

Danny was ready to get out of the suburbs already. It was boring here, leaving him too much time alone with his thoughts, the thoughts that haunted him…and of course, there was the tiny fact that some crazy girl had discovered his secret! She had promised she wouldn't tell, and he wanted to trust her…but there was something…different about her. Was she really a witch?

Danny sighed, banishing his thoughts, and threw open his window, letting the cool breeze into his room. It was nights like these that he missed home. In Amity Park, he could leave his room and fly around the city and nobody found it odd, but here in Lebanon…he didn't want to think about it.

_But it's dark now,_ he thought. _I could just go out for a little bit, and be right back. Jazz'll cover for me._

He made his decision, and left his room, shielded by his ghost power of invisibility, just in case. And it was here, lost in his thoughts, that he came upon Kurai. She was in a a feathery tutu, had wings, and she was being kidnapped by a dark-haired teenager and his big bulky bodyguard.

"Let her go!" Danny yelled, shooting a ghostray at them.

He was instantly shot down.


	4. Artemis Fowl II

Artemis, what are you saying?" Holly asked.

"I have found the vigilante who has been causing the time-space anomalies," Artemis Fowl II replied. "Unfortunately she was a yokai. We had to take her down."

From her current position in the Lower Elements, Holly dropped her head into her hands. "D'Arvit, Artemis, don't tell me you—"

"I'm afraid there was no choice, Holly," Artemis said guiltily, feeling like a child being scolded. "She had back up."

Holly sighed. "Well. I'll be there when I can. Make sure you keep her comfortable."

"I'm planning on it," Artemis replied.

XXX

I opened my eyes. "Aw…Sadako's really gonna kill me."

"K-Kurai?" Danny Fenton was sittting up on the cot in the white room. I had never noticed before…he really was kind of cute.

"How'd you see through me?" I asked.

I laughed. "I've been masquerading as Danny Phantom for years. I've learned things."

I smiled. "Nice to meet you. I'm Kraehe."

His blue eyes widened. "I've heard of you! You have the power of time travel and travel through time and space defeating the forces of Chaos!"

I laughed a little. "I'm only in training. I'm pretty much failing, Danny. Look at us, we've been captured by a teenage genius! He doesn't have powers, but he knocked us down like fruit flies."

The door opened, and the boy who had captured us entered. Danny stood up, preparing to transform. I held him back. "Stand down. We need to be rational here."

"Wise choice, You Miko," the boy said, coming in and sitting down. "I am Artemis Fowl II. There is no need to attack me. I am not, in fact, holding you prisoner."

"Then what do you call this?" Danny indicated the mark on his neck.

"A precaution," Artemis said. "Yokai are highly unpredictable, as are most ghosts. However, now that we have met, I hope that you will accept my apologies."

I smiled. "Diplomatic tactic. You definitely aren't underestimating me. And I will not underestimate you."

I bowed. "My respect to you, Artemis Fowl II. But I'm afraid I have to leave you now. Danny!"

"Going ghost!" he yelled, grabbing my shoulders and phasing us out of Fowl Manor.

When we got up pretty high, I gasped slightly. "W-We're flying. And you saved me twice. This is kind of awesome."


	5. Yokai

So what are you exactly?" said Danny.

"A yokai," I replied slowly. "You know like demon, devil and such. I originate from the Moon, so that's why I had my guard down earlier."

I sat down calmly, and Danny touched down and sat in front of me.

"But-why are you here?" Danny asked. "Isn't there some kind of demon world or something?"

"You still don't believe me, do you?" I replied. "Fine, I will prove it to you, then I will answer your questions."

I raised my hand as if I was going to hit Danny in the forehead, but stopped, and my hand softly glowed. I stared straight into his eyes for a second, then said, "When you were five years old, you fell down the stairs and broke your leg. You got a cast and had to wear it all the way through your next birthday. Your sister Jasmine fell down the stairs one the same day one year after you did."

Danny stared at her. "H-how did you know that?"

I smiled. "I read your mind using spiritual powers of postcognition. These are sacred to priestesses, and to ogarasu, also known as demon ravens."

He stared at me for a minute, trying to adjust to the fact that I was really a yokai, and then he said, "You still didn't answer my question."

"Oh yes," I replied. "The infamous 'why are you here right now?' Well, I'm on a special mission."

"So…um…what do you do?"

I stared up at the sky. "Protect this realm and its inhabitants from Those who would wish them harm."

"Like who?"

"Well…let's see, how do I explain?" I said uncertainly. "You know what a ghost is right?"

"I think so…someone who died and for some reason had to stay behind on earth?"

"Sort of. It's like this. Sometimes, for whatever reason, a spirit is earthbound. Either they died with unfinished business, or Someone prevented them from leaving Earth. This is what I prevent."

"What do you mean?"

"There are some who steal a soul using a human host called a Alba Matrona, by having the host steal the human's soul after the body has died. The spirit is only memories and consciousness, while the soul is the essence of the human…I'm boring you, aren't I?"

"No," Danny lied. "I just don't see what it has to do with why you're here."

"Someone is an Alba Matrona, Danny," I replied. "I have until the next new moon to find out who, and persuade them to rejoin with their soul…or they-and I-will be lost forever."

"So who is this Alba Matrona person?" Danny said seriously.

"I think it might be Mana."


	6. Sam

Mana?" Danny said, surprised. "I know she's mean, but I don't think she would…"

"That's just it, Danny," I replied. "She doesn't know that she's doing it. It's like being overshadowed…she's only a pawn."

"How do we stop her?"

"You aren't going to do anything. I am not going to repeat…last time."

"What do you mean?"

"Y-you wouldn't understand. It's just…personal. And it isn't going to happen this time!"

I disappeared then, though Danny thought he could hear my icy wind in the distance.

"What?" said Tucker. "You're kidding, right? Kraehe?"

"Shh!" Danny replied. "I don't think she wants the whole school to know!"

"Are you sure?"

"I think I know what I saw, Tuck, and it wasn't witchcraft."

All of a sudden, Kurai came running down the hallway.

"WE'RE TOO LATE!" she screamed. "THEY HAVE HER!"

Everyone else ignored her, used to sudden outbursts, but Danny pulled her to one side. "They've got who?"

She stared at him. "Didn't you know? Sam!"


	7. Inuyasha

What?" Danny was yelling now.

"Shh!" I whispered furiously. "Come on, we have to fly there."

"Wait. Where?" Tucker said.

"I can't tell you where…but I do know which way to go."

"Well, let's go then!" Danny said.

Surrounded by feathers, I transformed into Kraehe.

The three of us joined hands. With me leading the way, it didn't take us long to reach a small, abandoned arena.

"Why is it always a deserted place?" Tucker muttered under his breath, only to be shushed by the others.

I quickly stepped into the arena first. In the center, standing like a fearsome lion of the Roman days, was Mana, eyes blazing red as flames, and hair blown back by an unseen force.

"Leave her alone, Mana," I said in a soft, dangerous voice.

Mana smiled. "I'm not Mana," she replied in a dark voice. "Remember me, Kikyou?"

"I-Inuyasha?" I was shocked. I fell back a step. "Y-you didn't…YOU PROMISED!"

A tear fell from my eye, and I angrily wiped it away.

"You should not have come," Inuyasha/Mana replied. "You should've done the wrong thing for once."

"Inuyasha…I made a vow," I replied. "and, unlike you, I do what's right and keep my promises."

"Have it your way," Inuyasha replied, and narrowed his eyes. "I never thought I'd have to do this."

"You chose it for yourself."

xxx

_Danny, _Kurai thought furiously, trying to transmit her thoughts to my friend.

_**Are you talking to me? **_He replied.

_No, I'm thinking at you. Go down the hall to the door on your left. You will know what to do after that._

As Kurai spoke, pictures formed in Danny's mind, showing him exactly where to go. He didn't want to leave her, but it seemed that she knew what she was doing.

"Come on Tucker," He whispered. "We gotta go, now."

"What?" Tucker replied.

Not waiting for a response, Danny, grabbed Tucker's arm and pulled him down to the hallway and to the door Kurai had "shown" him. He pushed open the door, not knowing what he would find, and then…

"Sam?"


	8. Stabbed in the Back

She looked just like she had before. Her eyes were closed, and she was on a couch, looking as if she was simply asleep. Tucker ran to her side, and tried to wake her, but his hand went through her.

"I-I can't touch her," said Tucker in a shocked voice.

"We'll just have to think of some other way to wake her up then," Danny said, trying to hide the fact that he was terrified that she wouldn't wake up.

Suddenly, however, Sam's violet eyes flew open and she stared at them both.

"Danny? Tucker?" she said softly. "I thought I would never see you two again…"

She sat up, leaning against the wall. "I've been trapped here…she said I would never have enough courage to tell you, Danny."

"Tell me what?" Danny replied.

Xxx

I, meanwhile, was fighting a losing battle. Inuyasha/Mana simply waved a hand and I, though I was across the room, felt a sharp slap on my cheek, and blood poured down my face.

"You can't beat the Light, Inuyasha," I gasped. "And you know it."

"Yeah, but I can destroy and absorb a thousand souls in the process," Inuyasha replied, laughing. "You could too, you know."

"I told you, I keep my promises. That little girl shouldn't have died, but when I held her hand, I promised her I would take good care of her niece. And I will."

"Pathetic," said Inuyasha. "You could have been so much more than what you are, hanyou."

"At least I'm not a traitor," I whispered.

I blasted him with a ray of light, temporarily blinding him.

He shielded his eyes and took a blade from Mana's pocket. "The Chaos stone Mana, the only stone strong enough to kill a Tenshi. This ends tonight," He whispered.

I tried to run, but Inuyasha's demonic gaze held me in a trance. "Inuyasha, remember who we used to be! Remember what you promised me—"

"No," Inuyasha replied. "Tenshi will be spilt, and I will be the first Chaotic Tenshi."

He plunged the knife into my back as I turned to run. I slumped forward.

Xxx

"I love you," whispered Sam, then she closed her eyes. "And now we are both free. I can go now, because you saved me from myself."

Danny's eyes widened, and he remained speechless as Sam began to fade.

"When will I see you again?" Danny asked her.

"We'll all see each other again…in a day not far from now. Now save Kurai. She needs your help."

Sam disappeared completely, and Danny stood frozen for a moment, then ran to honor Sam's final wishes.


	9. Just In Time

_'I love you,'_ her words rang in his mind as Danny ran down the hallway, Tucker at his heels. All this time, and she never told me. I never thought we would lose the chance.

All of a sudden he heard a maniacal laughing coming from the room where they had last seen Kurai. Danny had a feeling something had gone horribly wrong. He was right.

I lay on the cold floor, blood pouring from my wound. As a Tenshi, I would have lived forever, but, as everyone knows, cutting a Tenshi with the Chaos Stone made her human. For the first time in my life, I was human.

I felt the pain at first, but then, it grew numb. Feet were pounding on the floor. I wanted to yell that it was too late to do anything, but I couldn't speak. Flashes of light went before my eyes, and then everything faded into black.

Xxx

"Hey," a fuzzy voice said. "She's opening her eyes."

"Yeah," said another voice. "I think she's waking up."

"Mmmm?" I mumbled. "Am I in heaven?"

Sadako stared at me. "You're in the hospital, kid." She turned to the doctor. "How much is this gonna cost me?"

"Danny? Tucker? Sadako?" I mumbled. "What happened?"

"You got…er…cut," replied Danny awkwardly. "And we got there just in time."

"Yeah, but you're okay, now," said Tucker.

Suddenly there was a soft knock on the door. The doctor opened it, and there stood Mana, good as new and no longer a Alba Matrona. She smiled at me. "Rough day, huh?"

I smiled back, then exchanged looks with Danny and Tucker. "You could say that."

Xxx

I looked at Sadako, and then at Clockwork. "So you're saying that in order to obtain the license to travel through time I had to pass this test?"

"Exactly," Clockwork said. "We have to remove you from this time now. You have done your work well, Kraehe. And you have been a good influence on Danny Phantom."


End file.
